Something to Do with That Young Man
by maddie.jv
Summary: Life with Annie and Jimmy after the series finale. Mostly the romantic side (fluff) but there will be some action and plot.
1. Chapter 1

**Takes place after the series finale. I will update when possible but I have school so I can't guarantee how reliable I'll be with them. I don't own any of the characters you recognize. If , in the future, I choose to write something a little more than a T rating I will publish the T version of the story here and the M version as a separate story. Thanks all. Please read and review.**

Annie didn't realize just how tired she was until she reached the car. Jimmy had silently offered to drive and Annie was grateful. There was so much she needed to think about, to talk to Jimmy about, but she could wait until tomorrow.

"Boots," Jimmy started before looking at his partner. She had already fallen asleep and he hadn't even started the car. He undid his bullet proof vest and set it in the back seat before doing the same for Annie. He buckled himself and Annie in and started for Houston.

When she woke up it took her a while to realize where she was. Just then Jimmy walked through the door to the bunks with some coffee.

"Hey Boots." He offered her the coffee.

"I don't remember coming in here. What time is it anyway?"

"If I was that tired I would remember either. And it's 11am," Jimmy responded.

"11? Why didn't you- hey. What happened to you?" She asked, finally awake enough to realize her partner had a dark bruise across his face.

"Ah," he laughed, as Annie touched the swollen cheekbone. "I tried to wake you up two hours ago. Remind me never to piss you off. I do not want to be on the receiving end of that punch when you are awake."

"I did that?" Annie asked. "I'm so sorry!"

"Ah it's alright. You've had a rough day couple of days, with seein' your father again and all. I should've just let you sleep. I will let you make it up to me though. Lunch?"

"Yes. Can we stop by my place first? I want to change."

"Sure thing. I'll drive."

Jimmy pulled his truck into Annie's drive way and stepped out of the car. The two walked to her door and Annie started fishing in her pockets for her key. She found it hit her hands were shaking too much to get it in the knob. Why was she so flustered? Seeing her father? Jimmy kissing her yesterday? She didn't know what she wanted wih Jimmy but that had been on her mind for a while. She froze when she felt Jimmy's hand over hers.

"Hey. Hey," he said, trying to get her attention. "Here. Let me." He unlocked and opened her door for her.

"Thanks Jimmy. I guess I'm in rougher shape than I thought."

"It would happen to anyone after what you've been through. You just go do what you've got to do and I'll be here when you are ready." Annie suspected he meant for more than just lunch.

The two were still standing close to each other and Annie had just realized that Jimmy had his hand on the small of her back and probably had since he opened the door for her. She turned quickly to face Jimmy and reached up to put her hands on his neck. She pulled him closer and stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"Thank you." She whispered to him. "For everything." Jimmy responded to her kiss wrapping his arms around her and kissing her firmly but gently.

"Of course. Now go shower. I'll be here when you get out."


	2. Chapter 2

Annie did as she was told and headed toward her bedroom. She was still exhausted but hunger and her desire to talk to Jimmy, to be with Jimmy, was winning. She took a long, hot shower and got dressed. She knew she wasn't going to go to work so she locked her badge and gun in the safe in her closet and got dressed. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and walked into her living room expecting to see Jimmy sitting on her couch, but he wasn't there. She turned to look in her kitchen and still no Jimmy. Just as she was about to start worrying she heard her front door open and Jimmy walked in with some groceries.

"Oh there you are. I was wondering where you had gotten yourself off to."

"I figured since with all you've been through you might prefer breakfast in. Course you don't actually have any food in your place, so I had to go shopping."

"Yeah, I, uh, don't really eat here that much." She filled 59's food bowl and the dog came racing through the apartment to get it.

"I figured as much. You live at the office more than here."

"So what are you going to cook?" Annie asked. "I didn't think you cooked anything but chili." She joked, nudging him playfully. Jimmy ran his hand down the arm she used to nudge him.

"I cook lots of things. Lunch today is going to be my grandmother's famous grilled cheese served with homemade tomato soup. Figured with it starting to get cooler outside it might be nice. And it's my favorite comfort food. Thought you might need some."

"Jimmy, you don't need to take care of me. I've been doing it myself since my dad left the first time. This time isn't going to be any worse."

"I don't have to. I want to. I want to be there for you when you need me and even when you don't," he said, "and I want you to be there for me."

"Jimmy I-" Annie hesitated. "I don't really know how to be in a relationship. I mean, I have friends and I've-" she paused inclining her head toward Jimmy. She hoped he would figure out what that meant without her having to explain. "But I've never really had a relationship. At all. I want to be there for you but I don't really know how."

"Don't worry about that now. We'll take it a little bit at a time and figure it out as we go. If it ever gets to be too much for one of us then we'll deal with that then. But we have to talk to each other about it." Jimmy paused before he asked the question outright. "So, are we doing this?"

Annie smiled at him. "Yeah. We are."

Jimmy served lunch and the two sat at the island in her kitchen talking and eating.

"Mm. This is really good. It's the best grilled cheese I've ever had."

"Thanks. It's sourdough and meunster cheese. My grandmother's recipe."

"Did you learn to cook from her?"

"Actually no. I took a lot of cooking classes in high school but we did cook together over the holidays. One of my favorite traditions. How about you? Any favorite recipes or traditions?"

"You sound like a cheesy questionnaire." Annie commented on the phrasing of his question.

"Hey. I hardly know anything about you outside of work."

"Well my mom died when I was eight and I traveled with my dad after that, but I vaguely remember doing something around Christmas. We'd open gifts on Christmas Eve, you know, the ones from our family and all, and then I think our stockings were filled by "Santa" for opening on Christmas morning. I haven't done it since I was seven though. Haven't really celebrated anything since I was seven."

"Not even birthdays?"

"The last birthday gift I got was from my dad a long time ago."

"The boots?" Jimmy asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah. It took me a long time after he left for me to wear them again."

After lunch was over Annie and Jimmy cleared their dishes and moved to the couch in the living room.

"You've got a nice setup in here. Wouldn't have figured you for the tv and movie watching type."

"It's about all I do when I'm not at work."

"Ok, favorite movie?" Jimmy asked.

"You first. You're the guest here."

"Hmm. Favorite all time movie would be Goodfellas."

"Ooh. That is a good one. I like pride and prejudice. I'm kind of a sucker for a good romantic movie."

Jimmy just looked at Annie for a moment before he started laughing.

"I know. I know." Annie responded. "It doesn't seem like me but I love them." Laughing along with him. The ended up talking for a while before putting on a movie. Then one movie turned into two and at some point some takeout was ordered. Jimmy noticed Annie move closer and closer to him before leaning on him altogether. Jimmy kissed the top of her head and put his arm around her to pull her closer. By the end of the second movie Annie had fallen asleep. Not wanting to wake her, Jimmy leaned back slowly and closed his eyes.

Annie woke up and realized she was in her living room. She remembered starting a movie... She took in her surroundings slowly. Her head was on Jimmy's lap and his hand was in her back. He was leaning back in his seat still asleep. Annie took this opportunity to think. She felt... Happy. Right. Like she and Jimmy would last. Would work. She closed her eyes again and fell back asleep, happy to be with him.

"Annie! Annie, wake up!"

Annie's head whipped up narrowly missing Jimmy's. 59 was standing close wih his head cocked toward her. Annie's heart rate was up and she was breathing more heavily than she should be.

"Wh-" Annie began before Jimmy hugged her close.

"Hey. It's ok. It was only a dream. I'm here." Annie stayed close to Jimmy and as she started to calm down bits of her dream came back to her. Her father was there, and Jimmy, but they were hurt. She slammed her eyes shut and tried to block out the rest of the dream. Once her breathing returned to normal she opened her eyes and Jimmy released his grip.

"How did you know I had a bad dream?" Annie asked. Then realizing he said "I'm here" she added, "and how did you know you were in it?"

"You were screaming. My name, your dads' name, lots of 'no's and 'come back's. Want to talk about it?"

Annie silently shook her head. She didn't pull away from Jimmy though, so he kept is arms around her.

"What time is it?" Annie asked.

Looking at his watch Jimmy answered, "Ten. You probably still need sleep. I could go..." He trailed off.

"No." Annie said, more forcefully than she meant. "I mean, you could stay if you want." Though neither said it they both knew Annie was still shaken by the dream.

"I can stay." Jimmy stroked her hair. "I can stay on the couch." Annie only nodded. They stayed together for a while before Annie got up to change.

When she came back she was wearing a baseball jersey, shorts, and her hair was tied up in a bun. She handed Jimmy the blankets she brought and, after asking if he needed anything, she went to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

The bright sunlight streaking through a gap in the curtains woke Annie the next morning. She glanced to her clock. 7:30. She rolled over to get some more sleep and found herself face to face with a sleeping Jimmy. She was startled but didn't jump. She didn't know why he was there but she didn't mind too much and figured he could use the sleep as much as she could. He stirred. Annie, both wanting to see what he'd do and hoping he'd follow suit and go back to sleep, closed her eyes and pretended to have not woken up.

She peeked at him through her eyelashes watched as he opened his eyes and studied her face. Jimmy, on his part, was fighting the urge to kiss her head or stroke her hair. He liked being with her and if they were both awake it might end.

"Damnit" she heard him whisper under his breath as her phone rang.

"Mmello?" Annie asked. "No. Why? Can you handle it without me? Yeah. Ok. I'll be in tomorrow. Sure. I can meet with him at noon. Great. Thanks Marco. Yeah. Alright. See you then." She hung up the phone and collapsed face down on to her pillow. "Ihftmmwffshnktmrmw." Annie mumbled into her pillow.

Jimmy chuckled. "If you want me to understand anything you are going to have to turn your head."

"I hafta talk to the shrink tomorrow. Get cleared for duty after the whole-" she paused and waved her hand in the air in front of herself "thing. I'm free today and Marco's taking care of the paperwork for me, but I have to go in tomorrow."

Jimmy rubbed Annie's back in an attempt to comfort her.

"Mmf," Annie mumbled, unconsciously arching her back into it. Jimmy noticed.

"Here," he said, sitting up and straightening the covers. "Sit here in front of me." Annie unquestioningly did as he requested and sat cross-legged in front of her partner. He started rubbing her neck, overlapping tight circles with his thumbs along her spine. Annie's head dropped slightly as she stifled a moan.

"Lay down and take off your shirt." This she did question, turning to Jimmy and cocking one eyebrow. "W- no. Not like that." He laughed. "For the massage. Do you have any lotion?"

"Mm. Bathroom cupboard, second shelf." She gestured across the room. When Jimmy returned to the bed with the bottle he saw his partners shirt lying in a heap on the floor, the woman stretched diagonally across the bed. He smiled the biggest smile he had in him, unable to hide it. Annie turned her head toward him when she heard him return.

"What? Ain't seen this before?" She teased, though she herself was grinning. "And anyway. Fair's fair. She waved her hand at him. Shirt off!"

Laughing again, Jimmy set the lotion down and did as commanded. Annie's grin widened.

Climbing back on to the bed next to Annie, Jimmy massaged a little lotion into his hands and started rubbing Annie's back. He started near the small of her back and worked toward her shoulders. He noticed a lot of bruises down her back and sides, some new, some faded and almost gone. He never saw her flinch when his hands got close to one, but he was careful of them anyway. Annie tried hard to keep herself quiet but to no avail. She did keep her groans small though. Jimmy's hands worked her shoulders and neck again before migrating down her sides. He had either hand wrapped around her sides, fingers working slow circles. His fingers, upon encountering the waistband of her shorts, ducked just inside, still making little circles in her skin. At this Annie twitched and moaned fully, unable to stop herself.

Jimmy's hands, though rough, were warm and gentle and knew each spot to hit to make Annie melt. She noticed a warm swirling feeling in her lower abdomen, arousal and happiness mixing as Jimmy continued the massage.

She felt her partner move slightly but he wasn't getting up. She was just about to turn to look at him when she felt a kiss land in each of the little dimples in her back, just above her hips. She sighed happily as his hands worked their way up her sides and the kisses followed. Trailing them up her spine, Jimmy felt Annie tense slightly in pleasure at each one. His hands, still wrapped around her sides, gently worked toward her ribcage. Climbing higher he used his fingertips and traced little swirls on the sides of her breasts.

"Hmmmmmmm," Annie sighed happily.

Another phone call interrupted the two and Jimmy reached across the bed and to the floor, laying on his stomach, to grab his phone from where he left it the night before.

"Hello? No. I dropped her off last night. Yeah. I'll check on her. No I won't be in. Got home late, not much sleep. Yeah, thanks Luke. Sure thing. I'll call you later with an update." He hung up quickly when he felt Annie crawl closer and climb on him, straddling his back.

"Your turn," she stated simply, her hands delicately gliding over his back. "Sorry. My hands are a little cold." She responded to his hiss. Annie used the heel of her hand running in either side of his spine, applying just enough pressure. She found some rather tight knots below his shoulder blades and used her thumbs to loosen them. Placing her whole hand flat to his back she gently pulled them across the whole surface from his shoulders to his hips.

Slowly, with a tenderness Jimmy hadn't seen in her before, she leaned down and kissed his back, as her partner had done only moments before, following his spine up to his neck. She hugged her arms around him and pulled herself tight to his back before reaching her hands down to his pants and, once again copying him, tucked her fingertips just inside the waist band. Jimmy sighed when he felt her rest her cheek on his shoulder.

"Hey Cowboy," she said.

"Hey Boots," came a soft response.


	4. Chapter 4

**Apologies. This chapter is a lot shorter than the last two. There's more to come! I promise! Also I reread the previous chapters and noticed a few errors. I type on my phone mostly and the autocorrect switches the word I type with other words. I do my best to catch them but a few get by. Please read and review!**

"Hey Jimmy?" Annie led without lifting her head off his chest.

"Yes?" He didn't move either. The two were still laying in Annie's bed but Jimmy was laying on his back, Annie using him as a pillow. He had his arm wrapped around her keeping her close.

"What do we tell people about us?" She was absent-mindedly tracing a finger across his bare chest. "I mean Marco, Luke, people at work."

Jimmy didn't answer for a while. He had been thinking about that since they had talked the day before. "Maybe we don't say anything. For now. We see how it goes with us workin' together and dating for a while, then tell them."

Annie nodded. "You hungry?" She asked upon hearing his stomach.

"Mm. Yes. Oh, 9:45. No wonder!" Jimmy added, looking at the clock.

"Me too. Let's go cook somethin' up." She found her shirt on the floor and pulled it back on. "Come on, Cowboy." She said, padding barefoot through the door. Again, Jimmy couldn't stop smiling. He got up and followed her out to the kitchen.

"Hey Annie. I've got a few things I need to take care of today. You gonna be ok in your own after lunch?"

"Yeah. You need to talk to Natalie?"

" I need to get my stuff from her place. Get it back to my apartment."

"I thought you told her you sold that place. What gives?"

"I, uh, never did give up the lease."

Annie responded with a look.

"I know, I know. Bit late to fix it though."

The two ate their breakfast and Jimmy, after putting his shirt back on, left in his truck.

After spending some time getting ready Annie got in her own truck and headed out.

"Hey Deputy Frost. How are ya?"

"I've been better, Lucy. How about yourself?"

"Hangin' in there. You here on business today?"

"Actually no. Personal. I called ahead to arrange a visit with one of the inmates. It should be on the books."

"Oh. Here we are. Yep. Got you a room all ready." The woman led Annie down a hall and through a couple gates to a room with a couple couches and chairs and a cheap framed painting. "Should be just a minute."

"Thanks." The door closed and Annie was left alone. She looked through a little window at the other end of the room which showed her a view of a clump of dead trees in a field. Before she could look further the door opened behind her and she turned around.

"Hey Annie! It's great to see you!"

"Daisy!" The two women hugged. "Hey. How've you been, considering?"

"Hey. Not too bad. My brother has visited a couple times, even brought my niece once. Marco visited and brought me some cookies. What's new with you? You and Jimmy together yet? "

"Well, actually, yes. As of yesterday."

"It is about time! You two should come by together sometime. What finally caused it?"

"Well you know Jimmy and Natalie were engaged but we had a couple tough cases and that and the wedding planning kind of drove them apart. That and a few dreams of mine and the sudden appearance of my father-"

"What? He came back? Where is he?"

"He's gone again. We are squared away though. I doubt I'll see him again."

"How you holding up? I'm sure having Jimmy there helps."

"Yeah," Annie laughed. "It really does."

"Mind if I ask you a question?" Daisy requested. "How's Luke holdin' up?"

"He's doin' alright. He misses you. Has he come by?"

"No. I don't expect him to for a while. Hope he does sometime though."

The two talked for an hour before Annie had to leave. She picked up some groceries and supplies on her way home to clean her apartment.

"I'm cookin' tonight. Dinner at 7?" Annie texted to Jimmy.

"Lookin' forward to it."


	5. Chapter 5

The apartment shone when Annie was finished with it. Though she would never admit it she couldn't remember the last time she had actually cleaned the whole place thoroughly. With the house scrubbed, bed sheets changed, and dinner cooking, it was time to turn her attention to herself. She turned climbed in the shower brandishing a brand new razor. 20 minutes later she emerged from her bathroom with smooth legs and smelling of strawberries. But that was the easy part. Picking an outfit was the challenge.

Across town Jimmy had pulled the last box from his truck and into his apartment. He looked around. Shambles. As much as he wanted to unpack and be done with it, it would have to wait. It was 6:20 and he had to start getting ready. After a hot shower and a clean shave of his face he put on his favorite blue button down and grabbed a nice jacket. 6:50. Time to leave.

The timer sounded in the kitchen and Annie came running out of her room, zipping up her black dress, to check the food she had in the oven. Perfectly done. And perfect timing. There was a knock at the door and Annie walked over to let Jimmy in.

"Hey. Good timing. I- Ben?" Annie looked up in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi there Annie. You look awful nice tonight. No chance that's for me is there?"

"Actually I have a date..." She glanced past Ben hearing footsteps coming up the stairs. "Ben you need to go."

"Why? Ooh. Jimmy is your date. Isn't he? That's the only reason you'd want me gone so bad. Alright. Alright. I'll go. But I want to talk sometime soon. I'll be in-"

"Ben Crowley. What are you doing here?" Jimmy walked up to the door and stood next to Annie.

"I seem to be getting that question a lot tonight. And anyway, I'm just leaving. Have a good night you two." He winked at Annie before walking away.

"Jimmy, I swear I don't know why he was here. We," she gestured toward the spot Ben had just occupied, "whatever we were, are over."

Jimmy laughed. "Hey. I trust you." He pulled her into a hug. "Here." He added, handing her a rose. "For you."

"Aw, Jimmy, you didn't hafta." She led him inside and found an old bottle to use as a vase.

"You look really pretty, Boots." Jimmy remarked, grabbing her hand and twirling her around as though they were dancing. Annie spun into him and smiled.

"You don't look so bad yourself, cowboy. And who knew you danced?"

Jimmy chuckled. "So what did you do today?"

"I ran some errands and visited Daisy for a while. Nothing terribly exciting but it was good to see her."

After the two finished eating Jimmy helped Annie clear the table. They were standing in front of the sink when Jimmy looped an arm around Annie's waist and pulled her in for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and slowly started pulling him toward her bedroom. Jimmy leisurely undid the zipper of Annie's dress and she untucked his shirt. She took his hand and, smiling at him, led him into her room.

Annie woke up to her phone ringing.

" 'lo?" She croaked, barely awake. "What? Ok. I'll round everyone up. Be in soon." She hungn up and glanced at the clock. 7am. "Jimmy. Hey. We got a case. Come on." After calling Marco and Luke and filling them in she climbed out of bed, sidestepping around the clothes scattered on the floor, and disappeared into her bathroom. Jimmy heard the shower start and pulled himself out of bed.

"Boots," he said, standing in the doorway, "I need to get clothes. I should head out. See you at work?"

"Sure. I'll see you there. Drive safe."

Just before eight Annie walked in the front doors of Heat and headed for her desk. Before she even had a chance to glance at the file the chief left for her Marco was at her desk.

"Hey, Chica. How are you?"

"Hey, Marco. I'm doin' alright. Looking forward to getting into a new case. Hopefully everything will pass with the shrink today and I won't have to wait."

"That's good. I'm sure it will go well. If you need to talk I'm here for ya."

"Thanks Marco. Oh. You wanna tell Luke we'kk all meet in the conference room at 9?"

"Sure thing."

Annie turned her attention to the case in front of her. She was determined to try to keep work as normal as possible even with everyone finding out about her dad. She examined the photo clipped to the file before reading it. A man, mid-thirties, dark hair, green eyes, handsome features. She read his bio. His name was Robert Francis James, born in Chicago but moved to Austin at age five. Thirty six years old and a proud family man, a wife, Susan, and two sons, Thomas and Charlie. He was the CEO of a profitable business before he brought a bomb to work. Went into hiding for a few years before reemerging with another bomb, this time of his wife's workplace.

Annie thought about the case. Why would he bomb his own business? Why would he come out of hiding to bomb his wife's?

At 8:45 she had an electronic display ready for the presentation and got up to get some coffee. She had been so absorbed in her work she hadn't noticed Jimmy arrive. He was in the kitchen helping himself to coffee when Annie walked in.

"Hey, Luke." Marco nudged him. "Check it out." He pointed across the office to the kitchen where Annie and Jimmy were talking and laughing, Annie occasionally nudging Jimmy with her elbow.

"What? You think something's going on between them? They've always been close." Luke said. "Besides. Annie's the most professional marshal in this office. No way she'd get involved with her partner. Especially one who's engaged."

Marco looked at him skeptically. "You didn't hear? Jimmy called off the wedding sometime during the Ellen Lacy killers case. I don't know man. Frankly it would be about time they got together." They turned their attention back to the kitchen.

"We should probably head into the conference room. It's about that time." Annie said to Jimmy. "And you know Marco and Luke are talking about us. Right?"

Jimmy casually looked over to Marco's desk where he saw two heads turn around suspiciously quickly. He laughed and held the door open for Annie. "They probably guessed about us."

"Should we confirm or pretend like there's nothing?"

"I don't know. We could have some real fun with this. String em along for awhile." He laughed as they made their way over to give the presentation.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey all. Updates are going to be a bit less frequent for at least the next month. I'll try to get some up though. **

"Alright guys. We've got another bomber." They all remembered the last time. Annie ended up in the hospital and Daisy nearly joined her. "Robert James. Thirty six years old, married to Susan James, father of Thomas and Charlie. Up until two years ago he was the CEO of a successful financial company based in Austin. Then out of the blue he bombed the place. Two fatalities. Those who knew him have no idea why he did it. He went into hiding and wasn't heard from until yesterday when he bombed Susan's previous workplace, a library a few miles from their house, four injured. Again, no one knows why he did this but eyewitnesses and friends of Susan all recognized him. He didn't change his appearance, or at least if he did he changed it back before the second attack.

"Susan was left behind with the kids when he ran the first time. Our first priority has to be keeping them safe. He may have returned for them. Marco, Luke, I want you two to head over to the library. See if there's any surveillance footage we can collect. See if any traffic cams in the area caught him on tape. Maybe we can back trace part of his path. Jimmy and I will go talk to the wife and kids. After my meeting." Everyone quickly went about their tasks, loading up the cars and heading out.

When Jimmy and Annie got to the neighborhood they parked a couple houses away from their target and opened the trunk. As they were strapping on their vests and loading their weapons Jimmy asked Annie about the meeting. He hoped she would have brought it up herself but that didn't seem likely.

"Hey. How did your meeting go? I take it you're cleared for duty?"

"Yeah. It actually went pretty well. He agreed with me that work would actually keep me sane. Well he said it more professionally than that but you know. He asked if I had good people to rely on and as long as I seem to be doing well I can keep working."

"Hey. That's great. Speaking of which." Jimmy gestured to the house at which they had arrived. "Ready?"

"Ready." They banged in the door until a woman answered. "Are you Susan James?" Annie asked her

"What? No. Who are you?" The woman demanded.

"We're US marshals ma'am. We need to search your house. Do you know Susan James or Robert James?"

"What? Who? What's going on here?" Neither answered her questions but walked past her Ito the house. Empty. No sign of any of the James family. No photographs or anything.

"Damn. Now what?" Annie asked when they were back in the car. They had given the woman in the house, Mrs. Glasly, the usual spiel, call if she found anything, knew anything, not to leave town.

"Let's get back to heat, see if Marco and Luke had better luck."

After parking their truck in the parking structure they headed for their desks. "Hey boots. You wanna come over tonight? We could get a pizza and some beer. Unpack some boxes, maybe watch a movie."

"Yeah. That sounds great. I have to run to my place after work but I'll be over around 6?"

"Great." He smiled at his partner.

Half an hour later Marco and Luke walked in and headed for their boss.

"Hey guys. Please tell me you found something. Anything. Our trip was a bust." Annie said.

"Damn. I was going to say the same thing. This guy is good. Not a trace of him at the library. No camera footage, nothing. Except the smoldering wreckage and a couple of witnesses. But the only thing they can tell me is who it was. They don't know where he came from or where he went. He's a ghost."

At five, after a couple of hours of fruitless searching, the team went their separate ways. For now they'd have to wait.


	7. Chapter 7

Annie showed up at Jimmy apartment at six as promised. She brought a six pack of beer and found, once inside, that he already had the pizza. She walked over to Jimmy who was standing in his kitchen searching for plates and napkins. She opened two beers and started looking through boxes.

"A ha!" She exclaimed upon finding the paper towels. "Let's use these. No dishes to wash and they're here."

As the two were eating they unpacked all of the boxes for the kitchen and filled his cupboards. "Where next?" Annie asked, ready to unpack more boxes.

"How about the bedroom? I'd like to have my bed put together and gets some sheets out by tonight."

The two followed the short hall to his bedroom where Annie opened the box at the top of the stack. "Hey. Looks like it's books here. Where do you want these?"

"That shelf by the door."

Shortly after Annie started stacking the books Jimmy heard muffled laughing. "Whatcha got there, Boots?" The laughing grew louder and uncontrolled. Laughing too hard to answer she grabbed Jimmy's sleeve and pulled him over to look at the photograph she found inside a book. A young Jimmy in a cheesy cowboy costume on Halloween, enormous grin plastered across his face.

"I think my nickname for you fits very nicely, Cowboy. She turned around to face Jimmy, still holding the photograph. "You've grown into it well."

Jimmy pulled her close, enjoying the moment they were sharing, even if it was silly. Annie smiled up at him and kissed him, forgetting for the moment the photograph and focusing solely on the man in front of her. He kissed back as he started undoing the buttons on her shirt. She untucked his tee and ran her hands along his skin, relishing the contact.

She followed the curves of his muscles with her fingers as she pulled his shirt over his head. Jimmy outlined her neck with a trail of kisses as he pulled her free of her shirt.

He grabbed ahold of his partner and lifted her into the air against him, supporting her with his hands where her legs met her hips. She wrapped her legs around his waist. Pulling away from nibbling his earlobe playfully, Annie looked at Jimmy's face. Studied the lines around his eyes, memorizing each detail. With her hands on his neck she leaned forward and kissed him wth more tenderness and passion than even she was expecting. Jimmy brought out in her that which she didn't know existed.

Soon the two were laying on the still unconstructed bed, Jimmy peppering his partner with kisses trailing down her arms, scattered across her chest and stomach, tucked into the curve of her neck. He slowly undid the button of her jeans, the kisses never ceasing.

He used the tips of his fingernails and traced little swirls along her flesh before sliding his arm under the small of her back, pulling her closer to him.

"Damnit what now?" Annie asked, annoyed as she heard a knock at the door.

"Hang on. I'll go check. Wait here."

"Well I'm sure not answering the door like this." She gestured to her current clothes, or lack thereof. "I don't think a black lace bra is exactly company attire."

Jimmy grinned at her, wishing to stay, to be in contact with the woman he had desires for so long. He heard the knock again and so unwillingly turned and left to go see who it was.

"Hey man. Heard you moved back in today so I thought you might want some help unpacking." Marco held up the beer he brought and stepped past Jimmy into the room. Not knowing what to do Jimmy just closed the door and followed Marco. Maybe he could find a way to get him to leave without being rude…

"Hey Jimmy, who was that at the door?" Annie asked, appearing from around the corner.

Marco turned to Jimmy with a smirk on his face, almost laughing. Annie had bolted down the hall as quickly as she could and left Jimmy to explain.

"So thats why you don't have a shirt on," Marco teased.

After a moment Annie reappeared from the hall, shirt back in place, cheeks red. "Guess there really won't be any denying this, huh?" She said to Jimmy.


	8. Chapter 8

Marco left shortly after, leaving them to talk. Or as Marco had put it "get back to business". Mood sufficiently killed, the two actually got back to work. Twenty minutes later Jimmy's bed was fully put together.

"Hey. You, uh, mind if I stay tonight? We don't, I mean, it's not, um..."

"The nightmares?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah." Annie admitted slowly.

Jimmy crossed the room and stood in front of his partner. He tilted Annie's head up so that their eyes met and chose his words carefully. "You don't need to tell me about your dreams. But I need you to understand that I'm not going anywhere. I'm not your father. I will always be here for you. I've been here for you since we met all those years ago and that's never going to change." He released her chin and pulled her close wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. "I am never leaving you." He added softly.

Annie hugged back, fighting tears. "Thank you," she whispered all but inaudibly. Jimmy waited for Annie to release her grip before so much as loosening his.

"I'm going to go take a quick shower. I'll be back soon. Feel free to take a shirt from the drawer to wear."

Annie nodded, aware than any words she said would take concentration away from holding in tears and she wasn't sure if she would be able to stop if she started crying.

Fifteen minutes later Jimmy stepped through the bathroom door back into his bedroom and saw Annie, wearing one of his white t shirts and a pair of his boxers. He laughed quietly, glancing down at his own pajamas which Annie had unknowingly matched. He crawled under the covers and pulled close to Annie. She responded by resting her head on him and her arm on his chest.

Asleep in mere minutes, Annie slept fitfully. Jimmy closed his eyes but before he fell asleep he heard Annie start talking. She was dreaming again. Listening to what she mumbled Jimmy held her close. The scared mumbles grew into tortured shouts, however scared Annie was in her dream Jimmy was equally scared for her. Suddenly the shouting stopped and Annie was still.

"Annie. You awake?" Jimmy whispered. Annie was unable to answer as she started sobbing uncontrollably, burying her head into Jimmy's chest. Unsure how to comfort her he just cradled her in his arms and stroked her hair.

"Hey now. It's ok. It was only a dream. I've got you. I'm not goin' anywhere. Shh. Shh."

He held her as close as he could and let her cry herself back to sleep. He fell asleep half sitting up with his partner laying against him.

Annie woke before Jimmy but didn't get out of bed. Though she didn't have another dream that night she was still shaken and being with Jimmy helped. She was calmed by the slow rising and falling of his chest as he slept. She glanced at the clock. 6:45. While she realized she should probably get up and get ready for work she really didn't want to leave Jimmy. Especially if he was still asleep.

"Hey Boots," Annie heard Jimmy whisper.

"Hey. I thought you were still asleep."

"I was but I usually wake up around this time. Hey. Are you... Okay after last night?"

Annie hesitated. She wanted to say everything was fine but Jimmy knew her too well to believe it. "No," she began, "but I will be. This happened last time. It went away after a week."

"And you'll tell me if I can help?" Jimmy asked. He knew how stubborn Annie could be but he was determined to be there for her.

"You already are helping. Just having you here and knowing I can count on you is more than I had last time."

"I love you." Jimmy confessed. "I know that probably scares you and you don't need to feel pressured into responding. But I do. I've had feelings for you for so long. I don't think I recognized them at first since I was was in a relationship. But it's true."

Annie was silent for a long time. She knew she had feelings for Jimmy and she liked spending time with him. She also knew that Jimmy was her closest friend. "I love you too. You're the first person I've ever actually said that to."

"So what'd'ya say, Boots? Should we go catch a fugitive?"

She sighed in response. "I suppose we oughta."


End file.
